HMV, the high-street music and DVD store, is set to collapse into
administration today, putting 4,000 jobs at risk.

The looming failure of the entertainment chain, which was founded in 1921 and
has 235 stores, emerged tonight as directors held a last-ditch meeting after
failing to reach a new deal with the company’s banks.

HMV has been battered by the rise of digital downloads and the flight of
physical DVD and CD sales to the internet.

In the past two years it has off-loaded a raft of assets, including
Waterstones, its Canadian business and the Hammersmith Apollo, in a frantic